This next book in the "Enjoying Great Art" series shows great art from four centuries - all around the theme of music. See musicians and instruments alone and in groups, as the focus of a painting, and as a mere prop. Enjoy these full cover copies of great art and see the similarities and differences between each. Clearly three dozen paintings can only show the tip of a theme - but they should be enough to give adults and students of all ages a nice introduction to "music in art." Note: As in all of Catherine's other "In Art" books, these paintings have all been chosen to be family-friendly (though we can make no guarantees about other paintings by the same artists )

For four hundred years Caravaggio's (1571-1610) staggering artistic achievements have thrilled viewers, yet his volatile personal trajectory-the murder of Ranuccio Tomasini, the doubt surrounding Caravaggio's sexuality, the chain of events that began with his imprisonment on Malta and ended with his premature death-has long confounded historians. In a bravura performance, Andrew Graham-Dixon delves into the original Italian sources, presenting fresh details about Caravaggio's sex life, his many crimes and public brawls, and the most convincing account yet published of the painter's tragic death at the age of thirty-eight. With illuminating readings of Caravaggio's infamous religious paintings, which often depict prostitutes and poor people, Graham-Dixon immerses readers in the world of Italy at the height of the Counter-Reformation and creates a masterful profile of the mercurial painter's life and work.

Enjoying Great Art Series: Turkey is a land of intersections - the intersection of Asia and Europe and the intersection of a variety of people groups across a multitude of ages. A booklet this size can merely touch on the art from across such a great region - and from across more than two millennia. But maybe it will whet your appetite to investigate this historic country more. This small booklet is meant to be enjoyed by adults and students of all ages. You may enjoy finding the similarities and differences between different paintings or different artists - both topically and stylistically: Explore the different treatments of color, of landscapes, of animals, people, and more. Please pay special attention to the variety of maps included.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1900 Edition.

This little picture book brings you New York City through dozens of beautiful paintings - paintings from a variety of artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Each painting includes the title of the painting, the artist's name, and the approximate date of its completion.

One of the many books in the new "Enjoying Great Art" series: In the past, particularly during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, religion was a common theme for paintings. So it should be no surprise that different themes of Christmas were captured often by painters of these times. Enjoy this pictorial look at different aspects of the Christmas story - the angel's proclamation to Mary, Mary and Elizabeth, the shepherds, and the Wise Men - as you've likely never seen them before.

Robert W. Burns lives in an ordinary house in Brighton, England.
Except it's not an ordinary house. Not at all. On the outside, it seems like any other dwelling, but on the inside, it's been transformed into an incredible art gallery, a shrine to and celebration of Renaissance art, containing wonderful reproductions of classic works from centuries gone by; portraits, wall frescos, lunettes and friezes alike. This picture book is packed with them.
Just turn the pages - you won't believe your eyes. The house also contains original Renaissance-style portraits of Russell Brand and Wayne Rooney.
As featured by BBC's 'The One Show', ABC, Channel 9 Australia and AFP. Certain images are from Robert W. Burns, others included by kind permission of legendary international photographer Facundo Arrizabalaga.
A treat for art connoisseurs and historians everywhere, and a real bargain, given the immense quality of the artwork on show.

One of the original books in the "Enjoying Great Art" series, but now bigger and better: Hats - ordinary things we see every day...But are they always ordinary? Here is a picture book for students of all ages...A picture book of hats and other head coverings Different styles, colors, shapes, and sizes...Some worn by men, some by women, and some by children...Many representing status or station in life...Some that look like they are just being worn for the fun of it. Look through the paintings that span many centuries and come from different parts of the globe. Notice the similarities and the differences...See the colors, the textures and patterns. Observe whether the hats seem to be a primary focus of the painting, or merely a smaller, insignificant portion. But, most of all, enjoy

Leon Battista Alberti made several references to miracoli della pittura (miracles of painting) in two of his early works, Vita (Life) and De Pictura (On Painting). After extensive research, author Jim Egan has concluded that these "miracles of painting" were the amazing full-detail and full-color images seen in a camera obscura. In Latin, camera obscura means "dark room." In a dark room with one small hole, the image of what's outside appears projected on the interior wall upside-down and reversed left-to-right. The room can be a people-sized room or a small box, like a pinhole camera. Nowadays, with slide shows, movies, TV, and computers, we're quite accustomed to seeing projected images. But over 575 years ago, back in the 1430s, a camera obscura image would have blown the socks off people. However, there was a down side: this was risky business. Creating full-color, full-motion, magical images inside a dark room might be considered heretical. You might find yourself on the wrong side of a barbecue. If you're so excited that you must share your knowledge, there's a solution: write about it cryptically. Only those "in-the-know" will catch your gist. That's what Egan thinks Alberti did. Alberti, whose books On Painting and On Architecture revolutionized these two fields, has been explored extensively by art historians for years. Surely they saw that Alberti was talking about a camera obscura. But no. Dozens of the top art historians of the 20th century write that Alberti's description of his "small box" was definitely not a reference to a camera obscura. Instead, they think it was a "show box," a small dark box with a small hole through which you viewed a picture, which was painted on glass and backlit to make it luminous, like a photographic slide. Who is Jim Egan to challenge great art historians like Kenneth Clark, Helmut Gernsheim, Samuel Edgerton, Anthony Grafton, and Robert Tavernor? For 40 years, Egan has been an in-the-trenches guy: a professional photographer, spending hours viewing upside-down images under the dark cloth of 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras. He has built dozens of pinhole cameras, camera obscura rooms, and even a camera obscura building. Plus, he's written ten books involving Renaissance optics, mathematics and architecture. How did the art historians get it wrong? The short answer is: "lost in translation" and "follow the leader." Egan thinks Alberti not only had a camera, but that he also had a lens to sharpen the image. And that Alberti had another camera obscura, which was a "Lucy" machine, used to enlarge and reduce artwork. And that Alberti hid clues expressing his understanding that "the eye is a camera obscura" in the design of his "Winged Eye" symbol and his bronze self-portrait plaque (both shown on the front cover).

Rembrandt's Code - From the Attic of Civilization can best be described by quoting a reviewer: 5 out of 5 stars "Dr. Girsh has a wonderful grasp of the complex nuances of Rembrandt's works, tying together Biblical references to other important figures in history. He shines light on hidden concepts that eludes even the most analytical of readers. A strong theme of "the origin of thought" branching into many subjects: languages, human thinking and behavior. Truly a masterpiece " The book also serves as a guide to the paintings in exhibition form enabling readers to enjoy the reproductions of great masterpieces of European art on Biblical themes, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. These are artistic interpretations of scenes in Genesis: Creation, Noah and the Flood, Abraham and the Binding of Isaac, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph. Rembrandt, Poussin, Rubens and West are but a few of the prominent artists represented in Rembrandt's Code - From the Attic of Civilization. For example, Rembrandt's masterpiece, "Isaac and Rebecca," sensitively depicts the love that Isaac had for his wife, Rebecca. The Biblical scenes are depicted by these classical artists whose art is part of our cultural evolution. Rembrandt's Code - From the Attic of Civilization has been honored by being sold at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Scotland. This book has been presented in exhibition format throughout the country and has been very well received. To quote a visitor present at an exhibition, "We were treated to a 'feast for our eyes' with some of the greatest Biblical art ever produced."

During Pope Sixtus V's reign at the end of the Roman Cinquecento (1585-1590), counter-reformed Rome underwent a significant transformation of its liturgy and of the way in which its religious monuments were approached by the faithful. The changes implemented by the pope affected the decoration of monuments on the various estates over which the Vatican has historically held dominion.

"Renovatio Christiana" is a scholarly study detailing the many building projects Pope Sixtus V carried out in order to provide clergy, residents, and pilgrims better access to Rome's main basilicas and churches, as well as to grant the clergy new processional pathways across the major churches. It also emphasizes the relationship between patron and artists, showing how Pope Sixtus V reshaped the Holy Steps, for instance, from a private chapel exclusively for papal use to a stand-alone building open to anyone seeking penance.

A highly academic and original text, "Renovatio Christiana" is a thoroughly informative and insightful must-read for anyone looking for a more detailed history and understanding of Rome's art during the late Italian Renaissance period.

When we think of the Last Supper and art, we often think immediately of Leonardo da Vinci. But the Last Supper has actually been the subject of paintings by artists for many centuries. Here is a collection of more than three dozen versions of the Last Supper - many by well-known artists (such as Peter Paul Rubens and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci), and many by lesser-known artists. As with the other books in the "Enjoying Great Art" series, this book is a pictorial journey for adults and students of all ages. Words are kept to a minimum - with an introduction to the book, and then artists and dates for each painting. For more details on Leonardo's famous version, you may also be interested in Catherine's "Exploring Da Vinci's Last Supper."

This small book was originally designed to help students slow down and enjoy a specific exhibit about the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. But it has been redone to be useful for students anywhere - students who have access to websites or books about Leonardo da Vinci. It includes a scavenger hunt that gives a good overview of Leonardo da Vinci as artist, architect, inventor, mathematician and more Then there are several other hunts that delve into some of those other "job titles" that Leonardo held during his very busy 67-year life. Happy Hunting